African remittance startups to watch in 2026

Africans abroad sent home $56 billion in remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024. That money feeds families, pays school fees, and builds businesses across the continent. As migration grows, so does the pressure on remittance apps to keep transfers fast, transparent, and affordable.

Users compare rates every day, they switch apps when payouts are delayed, and they talk openly online about which platforms they trust. It has created a crowded field where only the best services stand out.

This is a list of seven consumer remittance startups showing clear momentum heading into 2026.

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7 remittance startups to watch in 2026

1. LemFi

LemFi says it now handles more than $1 billion in monthly payment volume. That figure came from the company’s own disclosures during its $53 million Series B announcement in January 2025. LemFi also reported processing over $2 billion in total transactions in 2023.

The Series B round was the largest publicly announced fintech raise out of Nigeria in the first half of 2025. That milestone pushed the company further into the spotlight and signalled that investors still see room in the remittance market, even in a cautious funding cycle.

Ridwan Olalere, founder, Lemfi

LemFi operates simultaneously across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The platform also supports multiple African countries as receiving destinations, with Nigeria remaining their largest market.

Users in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States can send money through the LemFi app with competitive rates and fast settlement times. The company has invested heavily in compliance infrastructure and has obtained the necessary licences in its operating jurisdictions.

2. NALA

NALA raised $40 million in Series A funding in July 2024 and claims to have moved over $ 1 billion across Asia and Africa.

Founder Benjamin Fernandes started NALA in Tanzania, built trust in East Africa, then expanded into Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana. The company now operates in 11 African countries and recently expanded into the Philippines and Pakistan.

Beyond consumer remittances, NALA is building Rafiki, a B2B payment platform that functions as infrastructure for other businesses. Early users include TransferGo, a UK-based fintech that uses Rafiki for Africa payouts. Transfers complete within minutes to mobile money or bank accounts, with exact exchange rates and fees displayed upfront.

Benjamin Fernandes, NALA CEO

Investor backing from DST Global Partners, which backed WhatsApp and Spotify, signals sophisticated investors see clear growth potential.

3. Africhange

Founded in 2020 by Canadian immigrant David Ajala, AfriChange has built a remittance platform that competes with venture-backed rivals while remaining bootstrapped. The company serves users across Canada, the UK, Nigeria, and Australia, with over 300,000 customers and about 3million transactions processed to date.

Last year, Africhange expanded into the UK market, obtaining an Authorised Payment Institution Licence. The move targets the UK–Africa corridor, where Nigeria ranks among the world’s top recipients of remittances from the UK.

In Q3 this year, the company partnered with Griffin to offer GBP bank and savings accounts to UK users and also became one of the first 300 entities fully registered under Canada’s Retail Payment Activities Act.

Africhange offers remittance services across a wide range of corridors, supporting major currencies including USD, CAD, CNY, NGN, KES, GHS, INR, AUD, and GBP. The platform has introduced features such as USD virtual accounts and stablecoin funding options using USDT and USDC, as well as crypto-to-fiat payment methods.

Last year, the company also secured an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This licence enables the company to handle inward remittances directly into Nigeria without intermediaries, streamlining cross-border transfers for its customers.

4. Pesa

Pesa launched in 2021 and has processed over US$380 million in transaction volume as of mid-2025. The company serves diaspora users sending money from Canada, Europe, and parts of Asia and the Middle East.

In June 2025, Pesa acquired UK-based Authoripay Emoney, rebranded it as Pesapeer Payments, and gained full UK and EU regulatory permissions to issue e-money, run remittance services, and provide virtual IBANs. The acquisition also gave Pesa the ability to issue multi-currency debit and prepaid cards.

Pesa strengthened its African presence in August 2025 after securing an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This allows it to run direct remittance rails into Nigeria with faster settlement and better reliability.

The company now supports transfers to markets like Nigeria and Ghana and positions itself as more than a simple money-transfer app.

5. TapTap Send

TapTap Send has grown into one of the most widely used remittance apps for Africans living in Europe. The company handles transfers across major corridors such as France to Senegal, Belgium to Côte d’Ivoire and the United Kingdom to Nigeria.

Its growth is driven by low fees, competitive FX rates and reliable delivery to mobile money wallets.

The platform expanded its European footprint between 2023 and 2025, adding Spain, Italy and Germany to its sending markets. It also strengthened coverage across West and Central Africa by partnering with major mobile money operators. TapTap Send focuses heavily on smaller, frequent transfers, which have helped it build a strong base within francophone communities abroad.

The company has raised multiple funding rounds and keeps investing in compliance, corridor expansion and community-led user acquisition. 

6. Afriex

Afriex is a remittance startup that uses stablecoins to power cross-border transfers while keeping the user experience simple.

The company raised $10 million in Series A in 2022, led by Sequoia Capital China and Dragonfly Capital. Its platform supports multi-currency transfers, allowing users to send and receive funds in hard currencies such as USD, GBP, and EUR, helping to mitigate local currency volatility.

Afriex represents a bet on stablecoins becoming mainstream infrastructure for cross-border payments. If regulatory frameworks evolve favourably, platforms built on this technology may have significant competitive advantages.

7. Mukuru

Mukuru is a major remittance and payments player in Southern Africa. The company publicly states it serves more than 17 million customers globally and partners with MoneyGram to broaden its payout network. 

Its recent launch of a mobile wallet in Zimbabwe shows a push toward digital remittance and financial services offerings. Mukuru claims to operate across hundreds of remittance corridors and to have processed tens of millions of transactions.

Partnerships with MoneyGram and WorldRemit expand global reach through established networks. At 20 years old, Mukuru combines the scale of an established player with the agility to transform digitally.